MAY 19TH, 1949 FLIGHT 6ox
BRABAZON RUNWAYS
THAT the Bristol Brabazon will be inoperable from anyrunway which falls below Filton standards in length,
width and strength is, say the makers of the aircraft, anerroneous impression which has primarily arisen from the fact
that the machine has been inseparably linked with the con-current construction of the specially reinforced ij-mile runway
at Filton.
They point out that the Brabazon Mark II, the first aircraft(/) its class scheduled for airline service, will have two main
undercarriage groups of multi-wheel bogies which will con-siderably reduce the severity of load effect on runways, and
it has been found from a preliminary survey of airfields thatthe aircraft will be able to operate to and from many existing
runways. Of 23 airfields on the North Atlantic and Empireroutes only nine are believed to be below the required
standard, and of these five are scheduled for improvementto Brabazon standards within the next few years. Among
airfields which can be used are Filton, London, Schiphol(Amsterdam), Idlewild (New York), Orly (Paris), Shannon,
and Washington. Tests are still being undertaken at Prest-wick, Keflavik (Iceland) Tengah (Singapore) and Sydney. As
information on other airfields becomes available the list willprobably be extended considerably. The Brabazon may thus
encompass, virtually, all major air routes in the world.
AMERICAN AVIATION SUBSIDY
THE United States Government has allocated ^75,000,000for subsidising the airline industry during the'current-
financial year. This amount includes ^25,000,000 for operat-
ing airmail services, whilst general air operations and the
development of navigational aids and airports are covered by
the balance.
This proposed subsidy is larger than ever before but the
Government is of the opinion that the assistance required will
gradually decline in the future. It is also considered that
large sums spent on the development of airfields is of definite
military value. The Board of the Budget responsible for this
allocation takes the optimistic view that airlines will eventu-
ally bear a large part of their operating costs themselves but
has made the observation that such subsidies should not be
considered as gifts to benefit airlines only.
It has been stated that as the industry and tru- supporting
activities of the Federal Government' increase so it will
become increasingly important to have a basis on which all
the interested parties may appraise the cost in relation to the
benefits received. At the present time this is said to be diffi-
cult because a major part of the airline subsidy is " buried"
in mail payment to the operators. It r.as been suggested that
the subsidy should be separated as payment for the carriage
of mail, and as straight subsidy. Such separation would
avoid the rather meaningless presentation of ths American
subsidy as it is at the moment and would end the false im-
pression of postal expenditure which JIOW results from the in-
clusion of the non-postal element in air-mail costs.
SANTA CRUZ TO BE DEVELOPED
T^HE Indian Government has announced that plans for the•*• development of the Santa Cruz Airport, Bombay, have
been prepared as part of a ten-year development programmecosting £$3,000,000. The airport will be equipped with effi-
cient night-flying aids, including a modernized flare-path light-ing system and a radio-range station. When the airport was
built seven years ago it handled six services a day. Traffic atthe airport increased after Karachi was partitioned to Pakistan
until now 40 daily internal and foreign services operate throughthe airport. When fully developed, the airport will, it is
hoped, be capable of handling aircraft of up to 200,000 lb.
CONSTELLATION PURCHASES
T"*HE Government of South Africa has announced the pur--*- chase of four of the newest type of Lockheed Constellation
749 aircraft for use by South African Airways. The reason issaid to be the desire to speed-up services between South Africa
and the U.K. In March this year six additional Constella- •tions were purchased by Air France and four by K.L.M. Two
more were recently bought by Air-India International. Theseorders, together with additional aircraft for Eastern Air Lines,
the U.S. domestic operator, bring the total sales of this typeof aircraft to commercial airlines in the past eleven months
'to 23. Post-war sales, claim Lockheed, now total 179.
BREVITIES
HPHE new B.O.A.C. flying-boat base at Augusta, Sicily, is to
-»- be opened to-day. May 19th. The British Ambassador to
Italy, Sir Victor Mallet, will attend the opening ceremony.
* * *
North-West Airlines, a U.S. domestic operator, will be the
first to buy Stratocruisers for use on an internal route; the
aircraft will be put into operation on the service between
Chicago, Minneapolis and St. Paul during the summer. Ten
are on order and delivery of the first is expected this month.
* » *
Czechoslovakian Air Lines have suspended services to Israel
as a result of the Greek Government's cancellation of permits
for Czech aircraft to land or to fly over Greek territory. No
air agreement exists between the two countries and Czech air-
•t, craft have to obtain permission for each landing in Greece.
• * •
The twenty-ninth anniversary of the first K.L.M. flight—
between London and Amsterdam in a converted de Havilland
aircraft with two open cockpits—were marked by the official
opening on May 17th of the new station buildings at Schiphol
Airport. On May 29th K.L.M. will open a new route from
Amsterdam to Curacao, through Glasgow, Newfoundland,
Canada, and Cuba.
• # •
Mr. G. S. Lindgren, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry
of Civil Aviation, introduced the Airways Corporations Bill
in the House of Commons on April nth. The bill is "to
provide for the merger of the British South American Airways
Corporation with the British Overseas Airways Corporation;
to authorize the appointment of an additional Deputy Chair-
man of the British Overseas Airways Corporation; and for
purposes connected with the matters aforesaid."
» » *
A large number of agricultural shows is being held in various
parts of the country, and Mr. N. C. Stoneham, of Stoneham
and Kirk, 50, Bloomsbury Street, London, W.C.i (technical
and agricultural advertising consultants) has been investigating
the demand by farmers for personal air transport to these
events. He states that they have shown considerable interest,
and he has also obtained details of some forty shows with
B 10
nearby landing facilities. Mr. Stoneham now seeks the co-
operation of charter operators willing to pick up parties of
from two to six farmers at the nearest convenient landing-
grounds to their farms.
* • *Capt. J. T. Percy has been appointed officer-in-charge of
training for B.O.A.C. Atlantic crews at Filton, Bristol. Hewill be responsible for training the former Return Ferry
Service Liberator crews for the Constellations and, in a fewmonths' time, the crews for the Boeing Stratocruisers.
* • *
The Swissair service to Cairo and Basra now operates oncea week from Geneva as well as from Zurich. Calls are made
at both Cointrin (Geneva) and Kloten (Zurich) on the outwardand inward journeys, instead of alternatively at the two air-
ports. This is also the case with the New York serviceinaugurated on April 29th.
* » •
On May 6th Canadian Pacific Airlines took delivery of thefirst of four Canadair Fours—two months ahead of schedule.
These aircraft are for use on the new trans-Pacific services toAustralia, and the Far East, which will be inaugurated on July
13th from Vancouver and July 22nd from Sydney. The routewill be San Francisco, Honolulu, Canton Island and Fiji, with
connecting services between New Zealand and Fiji. Flyingwill be done only during daylight hours, night and sight-seeing
breaks being made at Honolulu and Fiji.
* * *
From to-day, May 19th, Air France's twice weekly Paris-Lisbon service, which has been stopping at Bordeaux, will be
flown non-stop on the outward trip; the service will leave onThursdays and the return trip on Sundays. The Saturday
outward and Friday return flights will continue to call atBordeaux. By Languedoc aircraft, the non-stop flight takes
five hours ten minutes. On May 31st a new Languedoc serviceis to be opened between Paris, Basle and Vienna, taking five
and a quarter hours, and on June 1st a stop at Milan will beintroduced on the Paris-Rome Constellation service.
* • •
Four captains and two radio officers flying with B.S.A.A.have recently completed a million miles of flying. They are